Breeding Trimma cana (Candy-Cane Pygmy Goby)

Trimma cana is a tiny Western Pacific pygmy goby living on hard corals of outer reef slopes. As a Trimma, it is a demersal egg-layer, but its breeding biology and larval rearing are essentially undocumented.

Overview

Trimma cana Winterbottom, 2004, the candy-cane pygmy goby, is a tiny Western Pacific goby recorded from the Philippines, Caroline Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands and Palau. FishBase reports a maximum size of 2.5 cm SL and a depth range of 12-35 m, with the fish living solitary or in small groups on the surface of hard corals along steep outer reef slopes. It is a demersal (bottom-associated) species, but dedicated breeding studies are not available.

Sexing

No reliable external sexing characters are documented for Trimma cana. Several Trimma species are known sex changers, and where sex differences exist they are subtle in these very small gobies, so reproductive sexing is not practical with the published information.

Conditioning

As a micro-predator, this pygmy goby would take very small planktonic and benthic foods. In a nano reef, frequent feeding of fine meaty foods suits its small size, and stable conditions on or near hard coral structure reflect its natural microhabitat.

Breeding Setup

A stable nano reef with hard coral or rock surfaces matches the species' natural perch sites. Knowledge-base parameters are temperature 24-26 degrees C, pH 8.1-8.4 and moderate flow. No spawning-specific setup has been validated for this species.

Egg & Fry Care

Gobies of the genus Trimma are demersal egg-layers, so eggs would be attached to a hard surface; however, no documented account of egg care, hatching time or larval rearing exists for Trimma cana. Production of this species in captivity has not been described in accessible sources.